Mother charged for leaving 5-month-old alone in car

January 25, 2014

A 29-year-old city mother faces a charge of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly leaving her 5-month-old son alone in her car for 10 minutes outside the Family Dollar store at 1221 W. Fourth St., according to Pennsylvania College of Technology police Cpl. Jennifer Bowers.

Bowers responded to the store after someone reported an abandoned toddler was left alone inside a car that was parked in a handicapped space about 9:20 a.m. on Dec. 5.

When the officer arrived, the child's mother, Latoya Monique Faulks, was exiting the store.

The child had been left alone in the car, with the engine running, for 10 minutes, Bowers said she was told.

Faulks, of 300 Campbell St., "downplayed the situation and asked what the problem was," according to Bower's affidavit.

As Bowers began to explain to Faulks that dangers of leaving a child alone in a car, the mother "thought it was funny and started laughing at the officer," the affidavit said.

"What was I suppose to do," Faulks asked Bowers. The officer told her she should have taken the toddler inside the store with her.

Faulks told Bowers that she had three children and would "never do anything that would put her kids at risk." The officer told Faulks she had just put one child at risk.

Upon waiving her preliminary hearing Tuesday before District James Carn, Faulks was released on $8,500 bail.

As part of their mutual aid agreement, Penn College police handled the incident because city police were busy handling other calls.